What are some advantages of radio telesocpes over optical telescopes?

Question

What are some advantages of radio telesocpes over optical telescopes?

Answer 1

Not everything in space emits visible light, or the visible light it does emit is absorbed or blocked by gas and dust clouds.

Radio telescopes can detect radiation in radio wavelengths which are not blocked by dust and gas.

Astronomers used infrared and radio observations to actually map the Milky Way's shape.

Radio astronomy has led to increases in astronomical knowledge, especially with the discovery of new objects such as pulsars, quasars and radio galaxies.  These objects represent some of the most extreme and energetic physical processes in the universe.

Radio astronomy is also partly responsible for the concept of dark matter as an important component of our universe; radio measurements of the rotation of galaxies suggest that there is much more mass in galaxies than has been directly observed.  The cosmic microwave background radiation was also first detected using radio telescopes.  

And radio telescopes have also been used to observe objects much closer to home, such as observations of the Sun and solar activity, and radar mapping of the planets.

Answer 2

Essentially an Astronomer gathers light and analyses it. Light being a teeny weeny sliver of ElectroMagnetic spectrum, lot is left out for him.

Each of the stars when they radiate this EM energy behaves like a blackbody somewhat, at certain temparature. The EM energy output follows Wien's law and sends more energy at a particular wavelength on EM spectrum (spectrum is like an orderly stack from which you can pick and choose your interest) and the other adjacent wavelengths falling off gracefully, gradually. For instance, a star at a temparature of few degrees Kelvin, puts out energy output largely in the radio part of spectrum, so your eyes don't get to see anything in visible light. Precisely in that part of spectrum, Radio telescope comes handy to pick up the energy of the star.

Answer 3

I visited this place in New Mexico and the equipment was mind boggling.  I still can't understand it much beyond the basics (like what is given in the other answers).

http://www.vla.nrao.edu/genpub/tours/

A fascinating science

Answer 4

see farther. but no accurate color

Answer 5

You can still work on a cloudy day!

Answer 6

Radio telescopes "see" in the radio portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, so they see lots of things that optical telescopes can not.

Optical telescopes have the same advantage; they see a portion of the spectrum that radio telescopes do not.

So it's not a matter of advantage; it's a matter of observing over as much of the spectrum as possible.

Answer 7

Radio telescopes will penetrate matter that will absorb light.

  The resolution is low but without them there would be no information from some areas of space.

Answer 8

They can see much father. Distant objects red **** out of the optical spectrum.